Mwanahamisi r. Kitti

4.3.3 The Extent to which Teaching Methods Impact on Students’ Performance in Public Secondary Schools

4.3.3.1 Methods Used in Preparation for Assessments

As shown in Table 4.11, group discussion (88.6%) and combination of strategies (88.6%) are selected by students as the best methods that help and prepare them for assessments (exercises, tests and exams). Other methods followed are question and answers (87.1%), brainstorming (84.3%), demonstration (80.0%) lecture (71.4%) presentation (60.0%) and the use of seminars (47.1%) being the least.
These results clearly demonstrate that group discussion, question and answers or combination of strategies are superior teaching methods not only in introducing new concepts but also in revising the taught subject matter. These results agree with previous studies by J-Ping and Collis (1995) in (Faraday, Overton and Cooper, 2011) who showed that at least two teaching methods ought to be used to make teaching effective.

Table 4.: Teaching Methods Preferred in Preparing Students for Assessments

	Teaching Methods	Strongly Agreed	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
	Question and Answers	41(58.6%)	20(28.6%)	6(8.6%)	2(2.9%)	1(1.4%)
	Brainstorming	35(50.0%)	24(34.3%)	7(10.0%)	0	4(5.7%)
	Group Discussion	28(40.0%)	34(48.6%)	4(5.7%)	1(1.4%)	3(4.3%)
	Presentation	16(22.9%)	26(37.1%)	13(18.6%)	6(8.6%)	9(12.9%)
	Lecture	28(40.0%)	22(31.4%)	14(20.0%)	2(2.9%)	4(5.7%)
	Seminar	17(24.3%)	16(22.9%)	14(20.0%)	8(11.4%)	15(21.4%)
	Demonstration	31(44.3%)	25(35.7%)	8(11.4%)	4(5.7%)	2(2.9%)
	Combination of strategies	43(61.4%)	19(27.1%)	6(8.6%)	0	2(2.9%)

Source: Field Data (2014)

In summary, the teaching methods used in teaching in public secondary schools in Nyamagana District have high impact on students’ performance as shown by students that group discussion, combination of strategies, question and answers and brainstorming have high percentages to show effectiveness. At least more than one method should be used to make teaching effective. These results agree with previous studies by J-Ping and Collis (1995) in (Faraday, Overton and Cooper, 2011).

4.4 Issue from Interviews

The research interviewed 6 inspectors and the following are issues raised from the interviews. First the inspectors commented that teaching methods including participatory (question and answers, brainstorming, group discussion and demonstration) and non-participatory methods (lecture, seminar and presentation) influence performance of students especially in teaching science subjects. Participatory (learner - centered) methods are important in teaching science subjects and they help student to perform different activities in the class during teaching/ learning process and make students to have long memory. Some science skills cannot be obtained easily by students unless demonstrated by the teacher and lecturing is done they also need full participation of students because involve much calculations and diagrams which need to be demonstrated, discussed in groups and brainstorming questions should follow so as to enable teachers know to what extent the students have understood what they have taught. They also commented that learner centered methods enables students to share their views and what they know about the subject matter and contribute to the topic as they are motivated and need to know more about the topic taught/ discussed.

Second, inspectors justified that teacher centered method are used in teaching because the students are being introduce to new concept and if used properly they can improve academic performance of students. Teacher centered methods are helpful in coverage of syllabus, they should be used for the purpose of clarifying information to a large group in a short period of time, useful in situations where the aim is to provide frame work of idea and theories, these include lecture and seminars.

Third, as which methods are commonly used, they were identified by inspectors as demonstration, brainstorming, group discussion, field trip, lecture, presentation question and answers extra, the choice of which method to use depend on the knowledge of the learners, classroom environment, teaching and learning materials, experience of the teacher and flexibility and nature of the topic or subject matter to be taught. They stressed that teaching methods are very important and can influence performance of the student thus the proper choose and use of these methods can lead to better performance of students.
Fourth, other factors raised by interviewees in terms of their influences on students’ performance were good infrastructures, good administration and proper number of students in the classroom and presence of teaching/learning materials. The interviewees also commented that, poor performance in Tanzanian education system is caused by frequent changes in curriculum and lack of competent trained teachers, lax in the seriousness of students (i.e. students do not take their education seriously). The current policy of education need to be reviewed in order for the challenges to be addressed for the better students’ performance. Finally, regarding choice of teaching methods inspectors commented that factors such as teachers’ flexibility, availability of teaching/learning materials, classroom environment and the topic to be taught need to be considered in selecting the appropriate teaching method.